Half a billion children face increasingly extreme heat

Nearly 500 million children now live in regions with twice as many extremely hot days as there were in the 1960s, according to new Unicef data.

Carlos Mureithi reports for The Guardian.

In short:

• Unicef found that 466 million children –about one in five children– worldwide experience at least double the number of extremely hot days compared to 60 years ago.
• The Sahel region in Africa, including Mali, Niger and Sudan, is particularly affected, with 39% children enduring over 200 days of 35°C+ temperatures annually.
• Extreme heat poses severe health risks to children, including heat stress and heightened vulnerability to diseases.

Key quote:

"This new Unicef analysis issues a stark warning about the speed and scale at which extremely hot days are affecting children."

— David Knaute, Unicef regional climate specialist for west and central Africa.

Why this matters:

Children’s bodies struggle to cope with extreme heat, leading to serious health risks. As global temperatures continue to rise, urgent action is needed to protect the most vulnerable.

Related EHN coverage:

• How youth can battle extreme heat in their communities
• Op-ed: How climate change harms pregnant people and their babies
• Hot temperatures may be bad for brains, even young and healthy ones: Study